EMF Used In Medicine

1. EMF Pulse Bone Growth Stimulators

2. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

EMF Pulse Bone Growth Stimulators

"Noninvasive bone growth stimulators generate a weak electric current within the target site using a variety of technologies, e.g., pulsed electromagnetic fields, capacitative coupling, or combined magnetic fields. In capacitative coupling, small skin pads/electrodes are placed on either side of the fusion site and worn for 24 hours per day until healing occurs or up to nine months. In contrast, pulsed electromagnetic fields are delivered via treatment coils that are placed into a back brace or directly onto the skin and are worn for six to eight hours per day for three to six months. Combined magnetic fields deliver a time-varying magnetic field by superimposing the time-varying magnetic field onto an additional static magnetic field. This device involves a 30-minute treatment per day for nine months. Patient compliance may be an issue with externally worn devices.

Noninvasive bone growth stimulators are used to treat fracture nonunions in the appendicular skeleton, failed fusion after spinal fusion surgery, or as an adjunct to spinal fusion surgery to decrease the incidence of failed fusion (i.e., arthrodesis)."

"Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive method to excite neurons in the brain: weak electric currents are induced in the tissue by rapidly changing magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). This way, brain activity can be triggered with minimal discomfort, and the functionality of the circuitry and connectivity of the brain can be studied.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is known as rTMS and can produce longer lasting changes. Numerous small-scale pilot studies have shown it could be a treatment tool for various neurological conditions (e.g. migraine, stroke, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tinnitus) and psychiatric conditions (e.g. major depression, auditory hallucinations)."

FDA approval

"As of October 8, 2008, a TMS device, NeuroStar, manufactured by Neuronetics Inc. has been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States for use in adult patients with major depression who have previously tried medication and not improved satisfactorily.[17]

Most TMS use is currently done off label or under research protocols approved by hospital ethics boards and, in the US, often under Investigational Device Exemption from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The requirement for FDA approval for research use of TMS is determined by the degree of risk as assessed by the investigators, the FDA, and the local ethics authority."